Severus
by wotchertonks7
Summary: A Prince born under a cruel curse. A young witch searching for adventure. A different kind of fairy tale that proves that ugly can be beautiful and that true love begins within.
1. Chapter 1

**Severus**

By wotchertonks7

Pairing: Severus/Lily, James/Lily

Rating: K+

Summary: A Prince born under a cruel curse. A young witch searching for adventure. A different kind of fairy tale that proves that ugly can be beautiful and that true love begins within.

Disclaimer: All characters are created by JK Rowling. "Penelope" was written by Leslie Caveny and directed by Mark Palansky. I own nothing.

A/N: This is an AU romance, based on the movie "Penelope," the story of a girl cured with the face of a pig. I immediately thought that I'd write a fic where Severus would be born with the face of a snake, as is more suiting to his character. Some of the dialogue is similar or taken directly from either Penelope or from the Harry Potter books. I'm just a sucker for Lily/Severus fanfics. There is no Dark Lord, no war, but blood status still causes prejudice and intolerance throughout the wizarding world.

xXx

My name is Severus Snape-Prince and my story begins with a curse. A curse that gave me the face of a snake.

My family was born to privilege. Pure-blooded, old money wizards that made respectable marriages and had strong, magical children. But legend had it that a curse had been put on the Prince family. The problem began with my great grandfather Percival Prince. He had the misfortune of disappointing his family by choosing for his bride a muggle-born witch from a poor family. After his family managed to convince him of his mistake, Percival sent the girl away, and the child she was carrying.

Shortly after that, Percival married a pure-blood witch and the other girl died of a broken heart.

The Princes thought their troubles had taken care of themselves, until the girl's godmother turned up at their manor seeking revenge. She was a powerful witch and wanted the Prince family know of the pain and humiliation her goddaughter felt. Especially the serpent of a man that had ruined the girl poor girl's life. The witch commanded that the next Prince male would have the face of a snake until he would find true love from one of our own kind.

Fortunately, Percival had only girls and they had only girls.

My mother, Eileen Prince married Tobias Snape, a wizard of great power and vast property. They lived in Prince manor, the finest house in the entire village. It was expected from the beginning that they would have many strong, magical children.

What they got instead was me and, well, let's say it was obvious that the curse was real.

I was born a healthy, perfectly average boy. I had all my fingers and toes, straight limbs and a steady heartbeat. There was just the problem with my complexion. The mediwizard feared that I was sick with some strange ailment, until he realized that my face was not green from illness. It was just green, and the skin was mottled like snake scales. My nose was nonexistent, save for two slits and already I had two very long and sharp canines, like fangs. The young healer on call fainted. My mother wept and my father had to pour himself a stiff drink.

Since magical surgery and glamour charms had no effect they did what any loving, concerned parents would do. They locked me in the manor and made sure no one would ever see my face.

Mother liked to remind me that no one suffered from the curse more than she did. She always did what was necessary, and always did what she had to do to keep me safe. Even if it was to protect me from myself.

So I spent most of my time in my library. My books were my only companions. I had a hunger for learning. I liked reading about spells and famous wizards and magical places around the world. I grew rare herbs and plants in my garden that I used to brew potions for healing draughts. I fancied becoming a healer when I was of age. I also wanted to go to wizard school like the other normal boys. And not just any school. Hogwarts, the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. There were a lot of things I wanted in life, but as I learned, life is hard and more than often unfair.

I grew up tall and thin. My hair was dark and remained oily that no amount of washing could alter. My face grew more and more hideous to look at by the day. My eyes were the only part of my face that I could be proud of, jet black and clever. My one reminder that I was human.

Meanwhile, Mother made it her mission in life to break the curse. All she had to do was find a high-society pure-blood. One of my own kind, to love me for who I was. As soon as I turned sixteen she began inviting young witches to the manor in the hopes that one of them would fall in love with me and the curse would be broken. And then we would all live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, every meeting went about in the same manor. The girl would take one look at me and flee the pavilion screaming. Our house elf waited by the front gate to Obliviate each girl, on mother's orders, so that they would not reveal the family's hideous secret.

I must have been more of a monster than I thought.

Father had long since retired into his private study and goblin-made wine, leaving me with no choice but to continue with the motions.

After a year of this I was losing patience. Mother remained determined, though. She would find me a bride and remove the curse from the Prince name. Mother always did get her way.

xXx

Lily Evans was girl with a curse of her own. She was an extremely beautiful, young witch from a family of muggles. She was bright and kind and she also possessed the mind of a scholar. The girls did not care for her because of her beauty and the boys were intimidated by her intelligence. Sure, some of them would listen to her discuss all the properties of dragon's blood, but she suspected that they were busy picturing what she had on beneath her robes.

What she really longed to do was travel. She had read about discoveries in Egypt where wizards had found all these ancient wizarding potions and spell scrolls. She longed to work the fields under the tutelage of the world's finest professors, cursebreakers and naturalists. Lily wanted adventure and that required gold, something that her family was seriously lacking.

By luck she saw an advertisement from the Prince family in the _Daily Prophet_ offering ten galleons just to take a survey. It wasn't enough to get to Egypt, but it was a start. Besides, she had just broken up with her boyfriend, for the last time and could do with a laugh.

So she did what any business-like witch would do. She put on her best dress robe and faked her lineage.

Mother was hopeful when she met the pretty red haired girl. She escorted Lily into my personal library and let her sit along with several other potentials.

I watched them from my secret room behind the wall. The mirror was spelled so I could see them but they could not see me. They were all pretty girls, and rich, and anxious for the healthy dowry mother was willing to spend on a bride.

"Please, dearest," mother said to me. "Don't go rushing in all at once again. Why can't you meet them one at a time like I suggested?"

I rolled my eyes. "It will flush out the unworthy ones faster," I answered, opened the hidden door and stepped into the room. "Hello," I said in a pleasant voice. "I'm Severus, and you are—"

The room exploded with screams and terrified girls stampeding towards the door.

"—just leaving?" I rolled my eyes and disappeared back into my room.

Mother sneered. A family trait. "I told you. Why didn't you listen to me?"

"I'm seventeen, mother. I'm of age. I want to go outside of this manor."

"Sweetheart," she tried to calm her tone as best as she could. "If you will just be civil to one girl, just one girl."

"And she will run, too! They always run from me. Do you know how that makes me feel? Why can't we just quit?"

"I'll never quit!" she declared. "We'll never quit. We can do this."

"Don't you think I'd like to? I'd like to believe that there is one girl in the world who will not run from the sight of me. But that will never happen."

"There's a girl in the library."

My father had joined us. He smelled strongly of drink and disappointment. He gestured to the mirror. "There's a girl still in the library."

The three of us ran to gaze through the glass. Indeed there was a girl standing there. A very pretty one too, with long fiery hair and the most striking green eyes I'd ever seen.

"Did she see?" I asked almost too afraid to speak.

"She must have. She is still here." Mother was nearly in tears with relief. "Go speak to her." They departed to give me some privacy.

I watched the girl. She was smoothing her dress that looked as if it had been trampled upon. Her expression was annoyed at best.

I held my wand to the mirror and cast the spell to allow sound to pass through.

"Did you see?" I said.

The girl started and looked around for the source of the voice. "Who are you? See what?"

"Did you see?"

"Again, see what?"

"You didn't see."

"How could I see anything while I was being squashed by all those stupid females? I was looking at your books when out of nowhere I was knocked down. But I'm glad we cleared that up. For a moment I had no idea what you were talking about."

"Why are you still here?" I asked.

There was an angry red flush to her face now. "I told you! They actually stepped on me! With high heels! What kind of a mental house is this anyway?"

This did not clear up my dilemma, so I sat down and regarded her. "You are impressed with our library?"

This made her pause. "It'd be hard for anybody not to be impressed. You have some pretty amazing volumes here."

"This is my library," I admitted. "We have several others, but these are the ones that I prefer."

She picked up a book with a blood red cover. "A first edition of _Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean_. This must be worth quite a lot."

"So you are a fan of gold, not knowledge."

She glared at the looking glass. "I love all books! Especially the ones about magical places. But right now I could do with the gold, is all."

The girl was here for mother's dowry. That was all. "So why don't you steal it and sell it? You could, you know. Slip it into your bag and they'll never notice. You'll make a fortune."

She weighed the book in her hands, considering it. "But it's your favorite."

I froze. Was it possible that she could see me? Could she be a skilled Legilimens? "How-how did you—?"

She opened it to the first page. "You wrote your name in crayon. So, why is it your favorite?"

I smiled at her keen observation. "It just always seemed like a fascinating place to visit."

"Yes it does," she said with a lot more enthusiasm. "That's what I need the money for. I want to travel to all the magical territories."

"All of them?"

She laughed. "All of them! Have you ever been anywhere?"

"I don't get out much."

"I can tell. Why not? This room is filled with books about famous wizard explorers and the places that they've discovered. Why not go see it all for yourself?"

"It's complicated."

"How complicated could it be? If I had the money I'd be in Egypt tomorrow. They have these tombs that once belonged to ancient wizards. Some wizards opened them too soon and they started growing all these extra legs like beetles all over their bodies! Can you imagine?"

"I can imagine curses," I said. "But I thought you were from a wealthy family?"

She turned pale. "Oh, I am. Only, we've, uh, fallen on hard times. I'll be graduating soon and I'd like to travel before I start working."

I accepted this, mostly because I did not want her to run away. She was fascinating.

"If you like ancient magic of ancient Egypt then you should read the large book on the top shelf to your right. The one covered in mummy bandages."

She followed his instructions and her face lit up with excitement. "This is wonderful!"

"I'm Severus," I said.

"Pleasure. I'm Lily."

"Will you come back for tea tomorrow, Lily?"

"Will I get to see you?"

I blushed. "Perhaps, though you may regret asking. And will you discuss that book with me?"

"If you like."

She smiled and in that moment I knew I was lost.

Mother saw my changed expression at supper and she knew she had won.

xXx

A/N: What I loved most about the "Penelope" fairy tale movie, aside from the whimsical colors, beautiful clothing and Christina Ricci's adorable piggy snout, was the lesson that loving oneself is more important than what others think of you. In a world where appearance is highly judged, it's good to remember that old wisdom. And since canon Severus Snape, the one we all know and love, is flawed and suffers from self-loathing and insecurity issues, it's interesting to think of him learning to love himself rather than merely accepting his fate. Sure, the usually descriptions of greasy hair and sallow skin are examples that he doesn't care about what he looks like to others, but that's more out of neglect rather than self-confidence.

My version of Lily is always a smart, talented witch trapped inside the body of a beauty queen. She values intelligence and friendship over appearances, although that will be put to the test in this fic. I like that she is a Gryffindor with a streak of Slytherin cunning and is willing to do just about anything to achiever her ends.

This fic was also written for Snape's birthday, Jan 9. Happy Birthday, Severus Snape!!!


	2. Chapter 2

True to her word, Lily returned the next day. And the day after that and the day after that. Together we plundered the library. She loved the works of Agrippa, Jigger, Egg and Trimble. We spent the summer hours discussing magical theories, Transfiguration, Charms, and Alchemy, even Quidditch that I had only ever listened to on the wireless.

I remained hidden behind the looking glass. Lily had grown accustomed to this arrangement.

"Are you ever going to come out from there?" she asked. "It's beginning to seem rude."

"I'd rather be rude than frighten you."

"It can't be all that bad. I've seen all sorts of Dark Art curses in _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection._"

"Trust me, it's bad. They could fill a new chapter about me."

She gave me a suspicious grin. "I can't believe you have a copy of Uric the Oddball's biography. In it's original Latin too."

"I can't believe you'd want to read that," I answered. "He thought he was a ghost and wore a jellyfish on his head."

"It's a window to what life was like for wizards in medieval times. No wonder the wizarding world passed the statute of secrecy with all the burnings and executions. And if he's so horrid then how come he's in your library?"

"Books are my friends."

She laughed. "Do they listen to you? Talk back?"

"Some do. Others just feel like they do."

"And what do they say?"

"They tell me about the inner workings of the Wizarding World, its past, present and future goals. About plants and animals, where they live and their uses. Did you know that there is a flower in Nepal that can re-grow cursed limbs? It grows at the highest altitudes and blooms only in the light of a red moon. Then the potion has to be brewed over three full days exactly right or else the drinker could turn into a yak."

"And you'd like to visit all those places yourself?"

I paused. "I… that is not possible I'm afraid. Not right now, anyway."

Lily tossed her head. "I'd love to go climb those mountains and find that flower. I can't wait to leave Hogwarts."

"I'd like to go to Hogwarts," I said. "Is it true that the staircases change places and that some doors only pretend to be doors? What is Dumbledore really like? Is he brilliant or is he mad? What is it like to learn spells in a classroom? Are Gryffindors as brave as they say?"

"Why don't you come this term? I'm sure the Headmaster will allow it if you write to him."

"I told you, the curse—"

"Again with 'the curse,'" Lily snorted. "It's not the curse that keeps you shut away. If you want to do something, do it. Why don't we hop on a couple of brooms and go to a pub for a beer?"

I smiled. "I've never been on a broom before. What if I get bucked off and I fall?"

"Then I'll cast a Levitation Charm to catch you. Every wizard should know how to fly a broom. I bet you've never had a beer either."

"I've had a beer before."

"Not unless you've had one in a pub you haven't."

"Do you know you are so bossy?"

"Do you know that you are a snarky brooder?"

"Do you know that you are my only friend? Whose not in printed form."

She smiled at me and lightly touched the glass. "I think the same about you. You feel like a friend. Like a best friend. I've never had that before."

"Never?"

"Not even from a boyfriend. We would date, but they never felt like a friend. You're different, Sev."

I liked the way she said my name.

"Come to school this year," she said. "You'd better be in Gryffindor."

"Does it make a difference, what house you're Sorted into?" I asked.

Lily hesitated. Her green eyes were hiding something. "No," she said. "It doesn't matter at all."

xXx

It was a particularly gorgeous day in July when Lily came for a visit. I decided to take her for a tour of the gardens and greenhouses. I kept under my Invisibility Cloak. Lily held onto my arm and I felt my stomach turn over. I showed her all the fantastic and non-magical plants, told her where they were from and what sort of properties they possessed. She listened with rapt attention. She was more interested in the Fanged Geraniums and Venomous Tentacula than in the honking daffodils and umbrella-sized flowers.

We returned to the house, Lily had her arms full of spiky, dark red leaves that resembled teeth. The house elf brought us our tea in the music room.

She gestured to the piano. "Do you play?"

I said that I did and she asked if I would play something for her.

"It will be difficult, with my hands under the cloak."

"Then take the silly thing off. I promise I won't run."

"I-I don't think you're ready for that."

"Honestly. Boys can be so odd sometimes. Alright, just your hands then."

I did so and she gasped. "They are so white," Lily said, "and your fingers are so long and lovely. I had no idea. I almost expected claws the way you speak, but your hands are beautiful."

I was grateful for the cloak to hide my blush as I began to play. Lily sat on the bench next to me. I could feel the tip of her shoe touching mine. Her chin came to rest on my shoulder.

"Sev," she whispered. "Let me see you."

"Lily, you don't know—"

"I do. I feel I already know you better than anyone. Like we've been best friends all our lives. The curse isn't who you are. You're brilliant and talented and so gentle, even when we are arguing theories. And you play the piano like an absolute angel."

"You will see!" I moaned. "And you will run. I don't want to lose you, Lily."

"Please, Sev. Is it for my protection or for your own? You can't hide yourself away forever."

Her hands searched for my hood and felt the transparent material there. I stopped her and then slowly, slowly I lifted the fabric away and raised my head.

Lily went chalk white. Her mouth opened but no sound came out. She was trembling so hard that it shook the bench.

"Lily," I said softly.

She yelped and fell backwards onto the floor. I tried to help her up but she scrambled away as if she feared I would bite.

I threw my hands over my face. "I AM a monster!" I ran out of the room, leaving the cloak and my hopes behind me.

My parents caught me before I could reach my chambers.

"Where are you going?" Mother shouted. "You're letting her get away!"

"She saw my face! She's running like all the rest."

"Sweetheart, you're the one running this time. Don't you dare let her get away. We're so close!"

"What's the point? She can't stand the sight of me."

It was Father who spoke up this time. "Ms. Evan is leaving. You should go after her."

"I can't. What could I possibly say to make her want to stay?"

"At least try," Father said. "Gryffindors admire acts of courage."

I ran back down the hall. Lily was heading toward the front door.

"Lily!" I shouted. "Wait! Please! Please don't leave!"

She was still trembling and kept her back to me.

"I know this face repulses you, but this isn't me. I am not the curse. I'm still the same man I was ten minutes ago."

"I know," she said, her voice small. "But—"

"You liked me before. You said we were like best friends, and once the curse is broken I'll be just like everybody else."

"What if the curse can never be broken?"

"Then you can leave me. I'll kill myself, I promise. We'll have the same chance at happiness as anyone else. Please, Lily. Marry me. Marry me because I do love you. Body and soul, I love you."

Lily looked up at me and managed to meet my eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't." And just like that she was gone.

I had been rejected my entire life, but this was the first one that I felt. Nothing had ever felt like this. I was alone again and my heart was broken.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Mother said. "We'll try again, and again! I'll never give up, Severus!"

And I knew that she meant it. Surprisingly, it was Father who came to check on me in my room.

"Buck up, lad," he said. "You tried."

"She still left," I wept. "And I thought it was finally real. I loved her. Now I wish that I could die."

"You wanted to be normal. You wanted to know what love was like. Well, you have to accept the bad along with the good. Do you think you're the only one to know unrequited love? When I was your age I fancied a witch, but she turned me down. Said she feared our children would have my nose."

"What I wouldn't give to have your nose. Father, what I really want to do is go to school. Let me go to Hogwarts for this final term. Please, I need to do this."

Mother stormed in. "Absolutely not! You'll be seen! Look at what happened today. They'll summon Aurors and take you away to Azkaban!"

"I'll go in disguise!" I exclaimed. "I'll drink Polyjuice Potion every hour for the rest of my life! Please, Mother, let me go for one year and I'll… I'll marry the next girl you bring to me. I promise."

"Darling, you can't—"

"I will go! I'll run away if I must, but I will go. I need to be free. I am not my curse. I need to be free!"

The end of the summer arrived and an owl delivered my acceptance letter. I was going to Hogwarts.

xXx

It was the first time I'd ever seen Kings Cross Station. At first I couldn't believe anyplace could be so crowded or busy. There were students everywhere, carrying trunks, holding owls or cats, chattering away about their summer holidays. I half feared, half hoped but I did not see Lily among them.

I wore a long black robe and a hood pulled low to not draw attention. My face was hidden with an elaborate white and silver mask. Headmaster Dumbledore had indeed been sympathetic to my cause. I was going. I was really on my way to Hogwarts.

On the train I found an empty compartment and sat to watch the students passing by in the corridor. They were laughing and telling stories back and forth. I longed to join them. To be one of them.

After a while the door slid open and three boys about my age came in.

"Alright, yeah?" said a tall, good-looking young man with grey eyes. A short, heavy stock boy with large front teeth and a thin, sickly-looking boy followed him. They all wore Gryffindor-colored scarves. They sat down, the handsome boy continued to talk as if I was not there.

"Hello," said the pale boy directly to me. "Is that you under there, Longbottom?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm a new student."

"Really? You're a bit old for a first year, aren't you?"

"I'll be going into seventh year."

"Are you a transfer student? Drumstrang, perhaps?"

"I was schooled at home. Headmaster Dumbledore let me take some tests and said I knew enough to be getting on with."

The boy seemed impressed. "You must really smart, then."

I shrugged. "A bit."

"A bit he says," the handsome boy laughed. It sounded more like a bark. "So, is that mask for a new fashion statement or just a bad nose job?"

"Yeah," I said quickly. "Bad nose job."

"How bad? Give us a peek." The boy lunged to seize my mask. I dove back.

"Don't!" I cried.

"Leave him alone, Sirius," said the pale boy.

"What? It was just a joke. Ugly kid can't take a joke?"

I didn't think I liked this person.

"Sorry about him," the pale boy said to me. "He can be a bit of an idiot sometimes. Did you really have magical surgery?"

"A bit," I said honestly. "It's not as great as they say."

"Really? How much does it cost? Because I was thinking of having something done myself."

"What could you possibly want done? You look normal to me."

"These scars." The boy ran a hand along his cheeks. "I wouldn't mind losing them."

"I didn't notice."

"Lucky you. I see them everyday. Most people find them disturbing. They avoid me."

"Over those tiny things? They are nothing. You are being foolish."

"Hey!" Sirius sounded angry. "Don't you go calling our Moony 'foolish!'"

"I wasn't. I only meant to say that there are worse things in life."

The handsome boy didn't seem convinced. "Such as?"

I counted on my fingers. "Spattergroit. Dragon pox. Ictheosis."

"Ick-ee-whatsis?"

"Ictheosis," said the pale boy. "It's a skin disease causing a reptile-like appearance." He turned to me and his eyes went wide. "Oh! Oh, right. Um, I guess a few scars aren't so bad after all. Thanks. I'm Remus Lupin."

I shook the hand extended to me. "Severus. Severus Snape." I was thrilled. My first friend at Hogwarts.

"And this is Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. We're in Gryffindor. Do you know what house you'll be in?"

I was about to answer when the door opened again and a boy with glasses fell into the car pulling a laughing girl down to the floor with him.

"Give over, James," Sirius said. "The food trolley will be here soon. No need to devour each other."

The girl lifted her eyes to scowl at him.

I froze. It was Lily. She was in the arms of a handsome boy. They were laughing and kissing one another. I wished that I could Disapparate to the ends of the earth. I wished the bottom of the train open up and I'd fall through and be crushed to death. Anything but to have to watch this.

Lily finally managed to stand up, noticed me and gave a slight shriek as she tripped backwards over the boy. She jumped to her feet again. "S-Severus? Is that you?"

"Hello, Lily," I said calmly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scream, but… but I didn't expect to see…. What are you doing here?"

"I decided to take your advice and go to school."

"Friend of yours, Lils?" asked the boy with glasses. He looked me up and down as if I were an enemy. On his chest he wore a golden badge with an "H" on it. Lily wore a similar one. The mark of the Head boy and girl I realized.

"W-What?" Lily stammered. "Oh, no. No, not a.. well, sort of. I mean, you could say that we know, that we are aquaint…. A brief meeting over the summer. Not that I know him very well. Hardly at all, really."

"That's right," I said. It cut me to ribbons inside but I endured it. She would not hurt me again.

"W-why are you really here?"

"It's entirely for my own sake. I told you that I wanted to attend Hogwarts and so I am."

"Oh. Ah, any idea what house you'll be in?"

"The Headmaster allowed me a private Sorting during the summer, so I wouldn't have to stand with the first years at least. I'll be in Slytherin."

Sirius made a noise of disgust. "I thought you were all right. But you're just another snake in disguise!"

"No wonder he wears a mask, eh, Sirius? Eh, James?" squeaked the rat-faced boy. "Bet he's as ugly as those wankers too!"

James and Sirius laughed. Lily winced remarkably like my mother.

"What's wrong with being in Slytherin?" I asked. "Both my parents were."

"They're all a bunch of Dark wizards," spat James. "Cheaters and gits the lot of them. Not a single one that has decent bone in their body. I'd have left if I had been Sorted there."

"James!" Lily said. "They are not all as bad as you make them out to be. Some of the brightest students in school are Slytherins."

The boy scoffed and put an arm around her waist. "C'mon, lads. Let go. This compartment stinks anyway."

They all got up to leave. Sirius trod on my foot on the way out. Remus sent me a sympathetic glance but followed his friends all the same.

"I'm sorry about this, Sev-Severus!" She corrected herself.

"It's okay," I answered.

"I guess I'll see you around."

"Sure."

And just like that she was gone, again. It was not more than I had expected things to be. I just wished that I had known how Gryffindors felt toward Slytherins. I would have asked that old Hat to put me in any other house. Dear Merlin, the last thing I needed was another reason for others to reject me.

xXx

A/N: The names of wizard authors were listed on the HP Lexicon.

Cornelius Agrippa: Muggles imprisoned him because they thought his books were evil.

Arsenius Jigger: _Magical Drafts and Potions_

Mordicus Egg: _The Philosophy of the Mundane: Why Muggles Prefer Not to Know_

Quentin Trimble: _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

The flower in Nepal is my own invention. Whether or not it can r-grow limbs or turn people into yaks has yet to be proven.


End file.
